The hub is an online platform to help advance access to finance for women-owned businesses by disseminating research and information on critical issues related to the women’s market. It will also address gaps in data, promote collaboration in knowledge sharing, and highlight innovation and best practices in expanding women’s access to finance.
The hub was launched during a ceremony at the 2013 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and IMF. Its creation was made possible with key support from several members of the Group of 20 advanced and developing economies—including the United States, South Korea, Turkey, Germany, and the United Kingdom—that have also consistently championed women’s access to finance issues in the G-20 financial inclusion agenda.
“Women-owned enterprises represent significant untapped economic potential,” said Nena Stoiljkovic, IFC’s Vice President for Business Advisory Services. “It will take much more than credit to unlock that potential. It will also be necessary to expand financial literacy, leverage best practices, and put in place policies and regulations that remove barriers to women’s participation in the economy. The Women’s Finance Hub will provide an important boost to global efforts in these areas.”
More than 200 million small businesses in emerging markets cannot obtain the credit they need to grow and generate much-needed jobs. The challenge is even more acute for women-owned businesses, which account for more than 30 percent of these firms. The financing needs of these enterprises reach about $320 billion a year. But credit is not the only barrier for these enterprises—they also need tools, know-how and networks.
“We hope that this new collaborative platform will present opportunities for extensive synergies with IFC’s leading role in the development of the G-20 agenda for scaling up access to finance for women-owned SMEs,” said Matt Gamser, Head of the Women’s Finance Hub and the SME Finance Forum.
The new Women’s Finance Hub is accessible at: www.womensfinancehub.org
